unions

Hotel workers in Waikiku as well as on the mainland took to the streets in an effort to flex their political muscle.

In San Francisco, police arrested 75 people during yesterday’s rally in front of Marriott’s Union Street hotel. In Boston, workers staged a sit-in on a city street, though there were no arrests.

A similar effort was tried in Waikiki but United Here workers ended up gathering on Kakalaua across from the Waikiki Marriott where union leaders announced they will take a strike vote on September 10th.

The Hawaii Government Employees Association represents close to 28,000 active members, as well as more than 12,000 retirees. It is closely watching the outcome of lawsuits filed on the mainland by some groups looking to claim back dues following the recent decision by the US Supreme court. That ruling, tied to first amendment arguments, allows public employees to opt out of paying union dues altogether.

The State of Hawaii has announced a new policy regarding the collection of so-called agency fees from non-members of public employee unions.

The policy, outlined in a memo from the State Comptroller, was spurred by last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Janus v AFSCME. That case, brought by Illinois state employee Mark Janus, overturned a precedent established in 1977 that allowed public unions to collect dues from all public employees, regardless of their membership status in the union.

This week’s Supreme Court decision in the case known as Janus vs. AFSCME is expected to have a far-reaching impact on the union movement in America, but observers disagree as to what that impact will be. To some, it’s a much-needed adjustment to the way unions operate; to others, it’s a critical blow to the future of organized labor and to collective bargaining. The decision states that public sector employees who are not union members cannot be required to pay the so-called “agency fees” that are taken out of their paychecks.

Hawai‘i remains a relative stronghold for unions. In fact, according to recent figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is one of the most unionized states in America. Pacific Business News Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier has part of the story behind the numbers.